This time around we are going to review a game that is something of a sleeper release as it has been hidden in the shadows up until just a few weeks before it landed on the Live marketplace. The game in question is Warhammer 40,000: Kill Team, developed by THQ, which sees one of the biggest table top game series brought to life as a fully downloadable game. So is this a hidden gem worth the asking price of 800 MSPoints? or is it going to get lost under the waves of the vast sea that is the Live marketplace?

Kill Team should be seen as a warm up to Space Marine which a full retail release that is under a month from release. Kill Team is like the little brother as it sets the scene before the events of Space Marine and is a great starting point for people who haven’t played the table top game before to enter the Warhammer 40,000 universe.

Kill team puts you in the boots of one of four of the Emperor’s Elite Space Marines in a fast paced third-person action shooter as you fight your way through six iconic chapters. Each marine has their own skills and abilities.

The games sees you having to board and destroy an gigantic Ork Kill Kroozer, which is a scout ship sent ahead of a larger attack force heading to destroy the Imperial Forge World. Do not under estimate the single Kroozer though, as it is laden with green skins, all of whom are more than happy to butcher your team and send their body parts back home.

The game is a classic twin stick shooter at it’s core, seeing you take control of an elite marine who has his own fighting style. Of the four marines available, there are two ranged specialists (Sternguard Veteran and Techmarine) and two melee-based marines (Vanguard Veteran and Librarian). On top of their core skills each one has a special move which will help you in the heat of battle when thousands of Orks a racing towards you.

As you play through the campaign you will unlock new skills and weapons which make your marine even more deadly. The new weapons range from laser cannons and rocket launchers to flaming battles swords. Along with the unlock tree, where you unlock more health and stronger melee, you will also pick up power ups as you play through the level which give you things like 4x firepower or a shield. These really change the speed of the game and give you the upper hand.

The game also has a split screen co-op mode which lets you team up with a friend on the couch and kick Ork ass. It’s great fun in co-op, though it would have been nice if the game had online co-op. However, the split screen mode is great fun and better than no co-op at all.

The game looks great for an arcade game, with the Kroozer looking grimy and dangerous with lights blinking, things bubbling and plopping, and the glow of Gork n’ Mork flowing around the ship. The marines look great as well, very detailed, and each one of the team looks very different adding character to each of them. As for the horde of Orks that will be throwing themselves at you, they too are highly detailed with each unit having it’s own look, which adds to the feeling of facing an army and not just one or two enemies.

As for sound, the games’ audio is dark and gritty with the Marines shouting orders at each other as there slay the hordes of Orks, who have a totally different sound of their own. The weapons sound great as well, with the Bolters rattling off pounding rounds and the power sword humming as it tears Orks limb from limb, adding to the depth of the game.

Kill Team is a great investment for fans of Warhammer 40,000 and new comers alike as it gives you a great insight into the universe. The 800 MSPoints it costs is not too steep an asking price for a fun, fast paced shooter that is a blast in single player as well as co-op. The game also helps set the stage for the arrival of it’s bigger brother, Space Marine, which is less than a month away.